Articles Tagged: Journal of Neuroscience

Role of adaptor protein CD2AP in neuron sprouting discovered by UofL researchers could lead to therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, stroke recovery and spinal cord injury

University of Louisville researchers have discovered that a protein previously known for its role in kidney function also plays a significant role in the nervous system. In an article featured in the April 13 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, they show that the adaptor protein CD2AP is a key player in a type of neural growth known as collateral sprouting. Continue Reading »

Spinal cord injury regeneration may be possible harnessing the brain repair mechanism known as axons, according to findings published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Researchers from University of South Carolina examined RNA function in order to test the ability of axons to aid regeneration of nerves. The team set out to find a way to bridge what they called the “regenerative gap” between the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. Continue Reading »

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have found a way to stimulate the growth of axons, which may spell the dawn of a new beginning on chronic SCI treatments.

Chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a formidable hurdle that prevents a large number of injured axons from crossing the lesion, particularly the corticospinal tract (CST). Patients inflicted with SCI would often suffer a loss of mobility, paralysis, and interferes with activities of daily life dramatically. While physical therapy and rehabilitation would help the patients to cope with the aftermath, axonal regrowth potential of injured neurons was thought to be intractable. Continue Reading »

In a study on rats, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered the cause of the involuntary muscle contractions which patients with severe spinal cord injuries frequently suffer. The findings have just been published in the Journal of Neuroscience and, in the long run, can pave the way for new treatment methods.

Three thousand Danish patients suffer from severe spinal cord injuries after being involved in traffic accidents or accidents at work. Continue Reading »

On April 2, The Journal of Neuroscience published a study on the use of a single administration of a gene-therapy targeting scar tissue at the site of a spinal cord injury in rats. The gene therapy helped nerve cells survive, and improved function of the affected hind limbs over the course of weeks, raising the possibility that the therapy might be useful to treat humans with spinal cord injuries.

Spinal cord injury is one of the most intractable medical problems, affecting, as it does, the main conduit for sensory and motor information from the brain to the body and back. When the spinal cord is injured, scar tissue forms, inhibiting re-growth of the axonal processes that make up the nerve cord. Continue Reading »